Second Best
by lotusrose15
Summary: Elsa is searching for a suitor, Anna is away with Kristoff. What happens next is weird, often doesn't make any sense, and who knows which direction this story is going in? I sure don't!
1. Chapter 1

She smiled as yet another suitor bowed to her where she sat in her throne embellished with icy patterns. If this one was different from the other stuff-shirts she'd had to put up with she'd eat her crown in one swallow.

"It's so nice to meet you, Prince Garrett," she said as nicely as she could in her current mood. It was a good thing she'd put her gloves on half an hour ago, when she'd started to feel tetchy.

Why did they all have to be so unoriginal in the choices of compliments? Did they really all have to dress in shades of blue? Did they think it would impress her? Were they really that desperate? Weren't they supposed to be Princes, or did they just want to be with her for the power it would give them?

"Oh, look at me, I'm married to the Ice Queen!" Men! Who said she'd need them anyway? Her advisors, that's who.

Bloody idiots, she should fire them... But what did she know about running a kingdom? She hated to admit it, and some of their advice was pretty stupid, but she did need them.

"It's Prince Eric, your Highness," he told her, still on one knee before her. It had to be uncomfortable, what with the way the ice was spreading across the floor as her ire rose.

"Oh, is it? There's so many of you it's hard to remember them all correctly. Please do forgive me?" She asked, picking idly at a fingernail, trying to think of Anna so she could stop the spread of the ice.

"Like you'll forgive my brother, Hans," he fired back, clearly still annoyed with himself for never seeing that propensity for evil within his youngest brother and the havoc it had wrought upon her own kingdom.

She raised an eyebrow regally. Choosing to ignore his rude question she told him he may rise, using an imperious gesture and helping him along a little with a snowy breeze, if his knees had frozen up due to an extended period of contact with the icy floor she was trying to rein in.

Perhaps it was time Olaf was brought in from his walk in the palace gardens? She hated to burden him, but she needed his happy demeanor right now, it would cheer her right up, and hopefully get rid of this darned ice! Why was she still incapable of keeping her powers under control?

"I am sorry for his actions, Your Majesty. If there's anything I can do to compensate you for any pain he caused you or your sister, please just ask. I am at your service," with this he again bent at the waist to show his subservience, even though they both knew it was a load of poppycock. As soon as his father died, he would be king. So why would he want to be second best to any one else, least of all a woman? Lord knows she knew how it felt, if no one else did.

"You weren't to know," she reassured him absentmindedly, while gesturing for an attendant to come closer.

She whispered to him to summon Olaf immediately, as she thought her guest was getting a little chilly, especially dressed as he was in his summer clothes. And what nice clothes they were, she thought to herself, glad that she had long ago learned to keep her facial expression blank so it wouldn't show her female appreciation of those deliciously tight breeches, and the laced up shirt, with just the tiniest amount of masculine chest hair peeking out at hair as if to say...

"Hallo," came a cheerful voice from the right arm of her throne.

At first Queen Elsa thought she was going mad, but then she realised it was just the joyfully childish voice of her and Anna's personal snowman, Olaf.

"Olaf, how lovely it is to see you," she smiled genuinely to his cheery little face, with his carrot poking out from where his ear would be if he had one. "Let me just fix that for you."

The smile still stretching her lips into an expression she was gradually becoming used to, she gently coaxed the accompanying happy emotion into her magic and the ice still slowly spreading across the floor of the throne room. She redirected it to above Olaf's head, where his snow flurry was still functional, but well, it could never hurt to have a little extra snow for her favourite little guy. Seriously, why couldn't all men be as sweet as he was?

"So it's true," Prince Eric murmured in awe, his eyes as large as saucers and his jaw very nearly hitting the floor.

She turned to him, her smile fading. "So your brother told you of what I am," she didn't even question, knowing that what she spoke was the truth.

"Why would he not? To him you're a monster and he thought you..." his voice trails off when he realises there's no diplomatic way of saying what he was thinking.

"Olaf, I'd like for you to meet Prince Eric, he's here today to cool off from the summer heat. Perhaps you'd like to show him around a bit. No one knows the palace like you do," she pleaded with her eyes, then winked at him.

Olaf looked at her perplexed for a moment, then he smiled and shuffled off, giving Prince Eric the whole Olaf treatment as they waddled off together.

Elsa found the happiness in the smile on her lips, sending it over to warm the floor and air around Prince Eric, recycling the cold air closer to herself, considering it didn't bother her.

Though her bottom was starting to freeze over with that certain coldness a prolonged period of sitting brings about.

She rose gracefully to her feet, somewhat vainly admiring the drape of her ice-created gown and cloak that trailed behind her as she walked.

As she walked past the guards standing at attention just outside the large doors that in the past she had often found imposing, telling them that she needed a moment before she would be seeing the next suitor scheduled for that afternoon.

Without waiting for permission, after all, she was their Queen, she waltzed off humming quietly to a haunting tune that had been stuck in her head for months.

She again contemplated how the same palace she'd been looking at for her whole life could look so different in such a short space of time. Not only now was it filled with happy, living, breathing people, but the fear she'd once felt at losing control of her powers was gone. The resentment she'd felt for her parents, her sister, every other "normal" person who might be slightly envious of her powers now, but a few months ago her only companion had been fear. And when she'd tried to run away from it all, she'd discovered that she couldn't run from her problems. She had to face them head on. She knew that now, considering it had been her sister that had saved her in the end.

Another thing to resent her for, Elsa thought bitterly, enjoying the clack of her icy high heels as she walked, no wait, was she sliding? Okay, make that ice then. She was sliding on ice.

Come on, Elsa, think of Olaf and his cute smiling face. Think of Anna, anything but your resentment!

It wasn't working, and she was disappointed and embarrassed to feel that the coldness and ice was spreading up the walls and up to the ceiling. If she didn't get a hold of herself, she'd end up losing all the trust she'd only just regained from her people. "A good queen possesses nothing, because she gives it all to her people." Elsa was trying to live by that edict, but it was hard when you were the only one with magic powers, especially ones that could manifest themselves in such dangerous ways.

Imagine the terrified expression on Prince Eric's face if he could see you now, losing control! He's already half convinced you're a monster, do you really want him to return home with stories of the Evil Queen of Arendelle?

She pictured his face in her mind, except the image that formed behind her eyelids seemed strange in some way, but she wasn't quite sure what. She wasn't going to argue with herself right now if it was helping to spread the warm feelings she felt deep inside to melt the ice she'd inadvertently created. She needed to be constantly on guard with that.

"Conceal, don't feel," she chanted quietly to herself as she felt the ice receding, melting into the uneven stones beneath her feet.

One small victory, another million to go!

Don't think like that, Elsa! She scolded herself, knowing that the more negative she was, the more often that negativity would manifest itself through her magic, without her even realising it. She needed more time to herself to practise her control, now that she knew how. She needed to be able to shut herself off from the power when she didn't need it.

It did come in handy, that's true, but it was also a huge responsibility. What with the responsibility of ruling a kingdom all by herself, with no one to help her except those pesky advisors and the endless parade of charming suitors who only wanted her for what she could give them: her kingdom. She almost didn't want to marry at all, if it meant giving over everything that kept her on the straight and narrow to someone who didn't understand. If it wasn't for those childish dreams of handsome Princes and damsels in distress she'd give up on the whole foolish business.

But right now she had a Prince to thank, no matter how silly he would think it, she needed to express her gratitude that she'd found someone else who gave rise to powerful enough emotions inside her to calm her magic and put it to sleep.

After having paced back and forth throughout her thinking bout, she spun on one heel, driving the pointed icicle into the stone floor with a grinding noise, she set off once again. She had herself a mission to complete.

A/N: I hope you guys like this. I saw the movie recently, and loved it so much, I had the crazy idea to write a fanfiction about it. This is set after the events of the movie, so if anyone hasn't seen it yet, it does contain a few spoilers. Anna got her romance, but I thought it was sad that poor Elsa didn't! This is my attempt to create one for her. I won't be writing another chapter of his for a while, so if you like it, it'll have to tide you over for a while! ;) Download the soundtrack or something to soothe your cravings ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa focused single mindedly on what she would say to Prince Eric, afraid once again of the ice's return. She'd foolishly thought that Anna's act of true love would fix all her problems, especially her control over her powers, but once she'd returned to the stresses of the everyday life of any Queen without a King, she'd struggled to maintain that control. Her advisors were always telling her that she needed someone to help her, like, you know, a King!

All their subtle hinting didn't help at all. She knew she needed someone to rely on that wasn't as flighty and obviously in love as Anna and she didn't begrudge that at all. She was glad her sister had found someone who could both love her and keep her safe from her flights of fancy.

So she'd consented to this foolish plan of shipping in potential candidates for her inspection, as if they were little more than products to be bought or sold if they fitted her needs. It seemed so cruel, but she could think of no other way to solve her problem.

Her only insistence in the matter was that she would be in complete control of who arrived and when, and that they would all receive hand written invitations from her hand only. Just to soften the sting a little bit. She may be new to this, but she didn't want to seem rude.

She tried to imagine every scenario possible when she found Prince Eric, picturing his face yet again in her mind. As if out of her control entirely, and most of the time it was, she lifted her right hand and gestured in the way she often did when she was summoning her power voluntarily.

She shut her eyes tightly to avoid seeing what she'd inadvertently created. She hated herself when this happened, because she felt as if she had no control over herself at all, and she felt as if she should, being Queen and all.

She opened one eye slowly, peeking out from beneath her eyelashes. In shock, she jumped before she realised what she was doing. Strangely, it felt like the sort of reaction Anna would have had in this situation. She didn't want to think about her sister right now, though.

Before her stood a snow statue of Prince Eric. Not living, thank goodness! That would create a stir, if anyone should see him.

She almost felt like apologising to it, which was definitely an Anna reaction. Queen's did not apologise, even to fellow royals, especially not when they were only made of snow. Even when they did it was just an empty platitude, like her people apologising for nearly having her killed by Prince Hans, just after her return to Arrendelle. She might be inexperienced, but she wasn't stupid.

She set off again, wondering what that noise was just beyond her range of hearing. It sounded like talking. It sounded like...

"Olaf!" Elsa exclaimed as Olaf came bundling around the corner in all his gloriously child-like energy, Prince Eric in tow behind him.

"Elsa! We were just talking about you! All nice things, all nice things..." his sweet voice trailed off when he saw her face darken.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if she should place so much trust on an artificial lifeform that she'd created by accident the one time she'd let her powers get out of control. But then again, who else still had the power to make her smile anymore?

"He said you were the nicest Queen he'd ever met, because you gave him his own personal flurry so he could experience summer," spoke a deeper voice she recognised somewhere in the depths of her distracted mind belonged to Prince Eric, and not Olaf.

"Thank you, Olaf," she spoke only to Olaf, rudely ignoring Prince Eric. She'd deal with him in a moment.

"And quite possibly the only Queen I've ever met," Olaf rambled on, apparently having not heard her speak at all.

"Olaf, that's not helping your case," Prince Eric whispered urgently to Olaf, even though Elsa could hear quite clearly. And she wasn't sure she liked what she was hearing, either.

Then she shrugged and smiled. She opened her arms for a hug and Olaf ran straight into them, using his tiny little legs to leap up high enough to wrap his twiggy arms around her in return.

She eyed Prince Eric suspiciously over his shoulder, unconciously squeezing Olaf tighter than she should have. He just tried to look innocent, even though he had to know he wasn't fooling her. Or anybody else, for that matter.

What was he doing here? It wasn't like he needed a kingdom. He had a perfectly adequate one already, or very nearly. Unless he was one of those stupidly greedy people who were never satisfied, no matter how much you gave them.

She felt her eyes narrow, just as Olaf began to wriggle to get out of her arms and rejoin his stumpy little legs on the currently unfrozen floor. Which was quite amazing really, she'd never managed to have this many emotions running rampant inside and not have any icy representation of it somewhere around her. It deserved celebration. Once she'd swallowed her pride and apologised.

"Would you mind excusing us for a moment, Olaf?" she asked him, not brave enough to look Prince Eric in the eyes just yet.

"Oh. Of course," and he scurried off, humming happily to himself as he went.

She glanced up from under her eyelashes, surprised to find her heart beating a little faster than it did normally and her hands just a little bit shaky. What were these feelings? Anything else she could handle, but this? This was completely foreign, and she wasn't sure she liked it either.

"I feel as if I should explain this a little before I get to the point, because the grape vine isn't that accurate information-wise," she started out, relieved to see Prince Eric merely nodding, rather than running screaming. Then again, she'd barely started.

She told him the whole story, trying to shorten it as much as possible, without leaving out the important bits. It was a hard skill, you know.

"So that's why I'm really sorry for my lack of control today. It's such a new concept for me, balancing letting my powers out and controlling it, that in difficult situations, I quite often find that I'm creating things without even realising," she finished, her eyes on the floor she'd inadvertently turned to ice during her monologue. She didn't slip, she never did, and probably never would. Considering she'd lived in an ice castle, not for long, but still, she doubted it would ever happen.

After an extended period of silence that was quickly becoming extremely awkward, she glanced up, catching sight of his green eyes studying her with a vacant expression. It was like he was trying to figure her out, yet like all royals she knew, had long ago mastered the skill of keeping one's facial expression blank. Since she hadn't been looking at him til just now, he probably thought he could get away with it. Thought he'd have his thoughts together by the time she looked up. Clearly he'd underestimated her.

It did explain the awkward silence though, so that was something. She smiled to herself, no longer really focused on Prince Eric so when she heard him clear his throat she was a little startled.

"I'm not exactly sure what to say to all that, I guess?" Prince Eric ran his hands through his hair nervously, his eyes not settling for a moment. "I mean, you threw my brother out of your kingdom, which was understandable, and I was one of the brothers who ignored him for three years, so I don't know why I didn't think that just maybe, he might turn into a greedy psychopath? So I guess maybe this whole thing is my fault, and it's me who should be apologising to you, Elsa. May I call you that?" at last he looked her in the eye, after his ramblings to himself seemed to have sorted things out in his head.

"Yes. Yes, you may call me Elsa, Prince Eric," she told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to. I'm already inexcusably late," and she walked off. If the floor was still icy, she didn't notice, and hopefully after she was gone, it would thaw itself.

"Bye, Elsa," he murmured to himself, somewhere behind her.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa used her fist on the hard wooden table to get everyone's attention, as they'd gotten rather off-topic and she'd only just noticed.

"I don't care how attractive the heir to the Southern Isles' cousin is, can we please get down to business?" she stood up, banging her hands on the table to emphasise her point.

Chortles accompanied her outburst. They clearly thought she was still an icy delinquent who didn't know what she was talking about, and certainly hadn't earned her place among them. Maybe they were right, maybe she wasn't fit for this, but this was not the place for self-doubt. She'd show them! She was their bloody Queen!

"Enough!" she screamed. "I called this meeting for a reason, and you will all listen to me or I'll have you thrown out!" She held out a finger threateningly, pointing at the corner of the room, where everyone present knew at any moment, should she so desire, she could create a living ice creature to do her dirty work for her. Perhaps it was unethical, hut right now she didn't care. Her bloody advisors were being unforgiveably rude!

They all cowered in fear and she tried to ignore how wonderful that made her feel, knowing precisely what happened to people that let their power go to their heads.

"That's better," she said more softly. "I want for this nonsense with suitors being shipped in and out at my whim to stop! It's ridiculous! If I do marry, I want it to be for love! Can't I just get someone to help me out until I know what I'm doing? Then get married for the right reason, because I want to?" she was a little out of breath from her impassioned speech, but she had meant every word she'd spoken. She hoped they'd take her seriously now.

"Queen Elsa. That's what we're here for. To help poor unfortunate souls, like yourself," one of her advisors foolishly opened his mouth in an attempt to placate her. It didn't work, if anything it made her even more irate.

"Who're you calling unfortunate, Mister?" and she conjured the beastly snow creature she'd been picturing in her mind, who proceeded to pick up that foolish advisor and throw him out of the meeting room.

"Is that all?" she asked the remaining men in the room. Whatever happened to female advisors? Oh yeah, backstabbing. How could she possibly forget that?

"Was that really necessary?" Another foolish man questioning her methods of ruling. This was clearly not her lucky day.

She pointed threateningly at him, but unlike the others he did not cower back into his seat, merely sat and stared back at her like an unblinking frog. She admired his mettle, though she didn't exactly appreciate it.

"You're all dismissed," she had decided that meeting time was over, relaxing time would start now. Or perhaps 'controlling-her-powers' time. Maybe she'd even visit that nice old man in the library who she had searching for books about other people like her. She wanted to research how they controlled their powers, and how she could utilise those techniques. So far, there'd been nothing, but she'd been trying to curtail her disappointment.

The men all shuffled out of the cold chamber, gathering up papers as they went. She didn't know what half of them even did, or if it was anything important, so she'd been trying to do some research into that too. She didn't want any disrespect, or potential revolutions. She had her people to think of, to look after, and also her sister. She had to keep them safe from power-hungry people like Prince Hans. That was what being a good Queen was all about.

Who could ever ask for more? She couldn't, she didn't even deserve this. None of it. Who knew why other people even trusted her when she was so volatile.

She wrapped her arms around herself as it occurred to her that even now rumours of her lack of control could be circulating the palace, maybe even the kingdom!

"Is it just me, or is getting really cold in here?" asked a familiar voice from the doorway.

She didn't bother turning, didn't want to see Prince Eric's judgemental face. She was scared of what she'd see, terrified even.

Footsteps sounded on the tiled floor, hesitantly approaching her. A hand landed lightly on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but flinch. A sense of deja vu settled over her like a suffocating blanket.

"Don't you see? I can't!" she remembered telling Prince Hans when he'd captured her and chained her up. Luckily, she'd escaped soon after, but to no avail, as she still hadn't been able to control the effects of her powers. Still couldn't, apparently.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

She sighed, turning round to face him, her eyes on the floor. Why was trusting people so difficult? How was she supposed to know who was worthy and who wasn't?

"Nothing," she lied, hoping he wouldn't pull her up on it. Just let it go, she thought, beginning to hum that familiar haunting tune.

"Bull. Something's wrong, and we both know it, so don't lie to me," damn, why couldn't he just let her be?

"I only just met you, how am I supposed to know when to trust you?" her eyes were still on the floor, well, his boots technically. He has really big feet, she thought distractedly.

He lifted her chin gently, causing her heart to race.

"You can trust me, Your Highness. I promise, cross my hearts, that I am nothing like my brother and I will prove it to you," his eyes seemed to portray his sincerity, but Hans' eyes had seemed that way too. Were they both just extremely good actors?

When she didn't reply, he just sighed, his shoulders slumping as he turned and left the room.

Oh, yippee Elsa, you've gone and disappointed another person. What an achievement.


	4. Chapter 4

Elsa walked down the corridors and tried to contain her disappointment in herself. She really had no self control, and she wasn't fit to be Queen. She should resign and let someone else take over. Who, though? Who could she trust that would be responsible enough to take her place and was a good enough person to rule wisely? Not any of her advisors, that's for sure.

Maybe they were right, maybe she needed a king? But if she did need a king, she wanted to get one on her own terms, make sure he was good husband and father material, and someone who would rule wisely, not with an iron fist. Or worse yet, listen to the advisors constantly and not have a mind of his own. That would really be terrible.

She glanced down at the floor out of habit, and was surprised to see no ice or snow or anything wintery at all lingering there and mocking her inability to control it. Perhaps all she needed now was to be able to control her anger, rather than just her powers?

She raised her hand to open the door to the library as quietly as she possibly could. She knew the librarian was quite prone to late nights and tended to sleep through the day, preferring to not be disturbed during his slumber. She knew all this, and yet this time she felt that she truly needed his guidance. He was the only one so far who'd helped her without judging her at all. Who knew it was so difficult being Queen? She hadn't, that's for sure. She'd thought it'd be all cups of tea in the garden and "off with his head!" But apparently it was more complicated than that, and gut instinct wasn't enough to navigate the tangled webs of palatial life.

She thought maybe she'd try and find what she was looking for without the help of the librarian, but he had a strange tendency to know, even in his sleep, whenever someone had entered his domain. Maybe even now he was stirring in his slumber, ready to yell at her for waking him when she'd done nothing but try not to disturb him, but he wouldn't see it that way.

She tiptoed through the dusty shelves, bending over gracefully to pull her icy heels from her feet so as to be as silent as possible. She'd tried to convince the librarian to let more light in here to liven up the place, but he was convinced that it was bad for the books' longevity, claiming that they would rot away in the sunlight and all their colours would fade with the exposure. Her countering argument had been that in the sunlight it would be easier to see the books and they could save on oil for all the lanterns he used down here to keep the shadows at bay. He was an old man now, and she humoured his superstitions, though she didn't believe in them.

With a loud clanging noise she tripped over a lantern resting on its floor, its light now extinguished as it lay on its side. She cursed under her breath, wishing she wasn't as clumsy sometimes. She was Queen, she was supposed to be graceful all the time, having been brought up as the heir to the kingdom. What would people think of her if she tripped over in public? That she was a fake, that's what! She may dislike all this responsibility, but she didn't want that.

"Elsa? Is that you? I thought you weren't coming down until tonight?" came the crotchety voice of her mentor from the stairs that led to his private quarters.

"It's me, Obita, don't worry. I just accidentally knocked over one of your lanterns, I'm sorry if I woke you?" she yelled back at him, as his hearing wasn't the greatest.

"Quick, child, get out of the shadows!" he yelled impatiently, gesturing to her with a gnarled hand, his fingernails clawed with lack of use.

"Don't be silly, the shadows can't eat me, Obita. I don't know where you get these silly stories from," she told him, half trying to convince herself.

"It's not the shadows themselves you need to be scared of, child, but what dwells within them. It is there that you will find the true monsters," with this ominous speech, Elsa couldn't help but run for the brightly lit stairs, still not exactly sure what she was running from, but happy to be safe again.

He smiled sweetly at her. "Now what was it you wanted to inquire about, my dear child?"

"Oh nothing much, just wondered whether you've found anything yet?" she paused momentarily. "And I kinda had another _moment_ with my advisors in the meeting I had today," the last she said in a rush, hoping he would be so distracted he wouldn't notice. It was not to be.

"No, dear child, I haven't found anything of consequence yet, but they do say that good things come to those who wait!" he chuckles good-naturedly. "Now what's this I hear about abominable snowmen throwing people out of meetings?"

Elsa smiled sadly at him. "How you find these things out without ever leaving the library is beyond me," she avoided the question, quite deftly, she thought.

He tapped his nose. "I have my ways, dear child, now no more of this avoiding the question nonsense! I'll have none of it in my library!" and his chest swelled up with masculine pride at his wonderful creation.

"Yes sir!" she saluted comically, hoping to bring a smile to the little man's face.

"Elsa," he threatened, wagging a finger at her.

"Alright, alright. They were all getting distracted and off topic and all I wanted to say was that I wanted to stop all this suitor nonsense and they all laughed at me, especially this idiotic one named Gaston so I threatened to have him thrown out but he just wouldn't stop and none of them were listening so I just had him chucked out and ended the meeting before I ended up doing something even more drastic!" she spoke all in a rush, trying to defend her faults in character, leaving out the conversation between her and Prince Eric, feeling that it should remain between the two of them. Lord knows she'd done enough things wrong already in her short life. She hated that she kept inadvertently adding to the list.

He sighed. "Elsa you must learn to control your emotions, especially your anger! You could become dangerous to the people you care about!"

"I know!" she yelled. "That's why I came straight here, so you could help me, not yell at me and make me feel worse than I already do!"

"I'm sorry, Elsa, but you know how I feel about the magic," he sighed again. "If it were up to me I'd find a way to get rid of the magic entirely!" another sigh escaped his mouth. "But I know you need the magic to keep Olaf alive until winter comes around again and he's really rather good at keeping you calm, I suppose."

She nodded, glad that he agreed with her. Was there even a way of getting rid of her magic? If there was, would she want it? This required serious thought!

"Right then! To work, sweet child! We have serious work to do!"

"Finding books again, because you forgot where you put them?" Elsa asked in a blank tone.

"Don't be disrespectful, Elsa, of course we're going to look for books, where do you think we are? A swamp?" he pinned her with his beady eyes stare.

"With the way it smells," she murmured under her breath.

"What was that, child?" he asked, leaning closer to her with his rank breath.

"Obita, haven't you even heard of personal hygiene?" she held her nose delicately between two fingers until he leaned back again.

"Is it a type of book?" he questioned, twitching his nose as if sniffing out something delicious.

She rolled her eyes, despite knowing that it was unladylike. Who cared? It wasn't like anyone could see her down here, except Obita, and he obviously didn't care.

She spent the next few hours helping Obita sort out his shelves, and racing about the place being careful not to step in the shadows as she relit lanterns that had gone out while he slept earlier. Despite the outward appearance of boredom she gave off, time flew as she daydreamed of the future.

"Are you ready to practice, Elsa?" Obita asked her from the other side of the room, still furiously sorting books into neat piles while she took a short break from the surprisingly exhausting work. "I think maybe today we should work on you controlling... hmmm, perhaps it will work better if I don't tell you what I have planned?" the last mumbled to himself, but Elsa used an icy breeze to carry his words to her. It was a skill she figured she'd need so she could avoid any potential revolutions, even though it was unethical. Right now she still had no idea what Obita was going on about, but that was totally normal.

"Yes, Obita," and she got to her feet, summoned her shoes to her and walked across the room to him.

"Good good," he murmured. Then his whole facial expression changed entirely. "Elsa! You have been very naughty!"

She felt shocked. What had she done wrong? She hung her head in shame. If Obita was telling her she'd done something wrong, then it was probably important, and whatever it was, she instantly regretted it.

"You are unfit to be Queen of this kingdom! An Ice Queen! Please? You're no better at ruling than a puppy dog, all bark and no bite, and your bark isn't particularly scary either. Eternal winter? As if! You couldn't control your emotions for that long even if it killed you!" his whole demeanor had changed into something so unfamiliar that Elsa wasn't sure if he was even the same person!

"And Anna! Everybody knows she just puts up with you because she feels sorry for you! She knows who should really be ruling this kingdom and it isn't Miss Ice-Puppy here! That's the real trouble with you Elsa, you wouldn't even recognise betrayal until it walked right up and pinched you on the nose! Do you really think your sister actually cares about you? Or anyone else for that matter? Especially knowing how dangerous you can be when you want to!"

"Enough!" Elsa screamed, tears running down her face.

She had kept her hands at her side, and controlled the vehemence of her voice, yet let it be loud enough to get across how shocked she was, how surprised. And angry!

Yet somehow there was no ice or snow around her at all, except for her dress and shoes. She was surprised at herself. She didn't think she had that much control.

How much of what Obita just said to her to purposely make her angry was really true though? Was she really that naïve? Could everybody see right through her like the purest of ice? Maybe she needed to work on that once she'd worked on her anger management. A good poker face, that's what she needed.

"Did you mean all that?" she asked Obita softly while slowly looking up from where her gaze was glued to the floor.

"Of course not, dear child, I'm not that cruel. And your sister does care about you, otherwise she wouldn't have saved you from Hans, would she?" he brushes some invisible lint from his sleeve, probably to avoid looking her in the eye. She hoped he wasn't lying, because if he was she'd have him thrown out! She cared about him, and that's what would hurt the most should he ever decide to actually betray her. She hoped it would never come to that. Who else could she rely on when Anna was away?

She nodded in silent reply, her gaze falling back to the floor as she contemplated all the things she had learnt today. She turned and slowly began to walk out of the library, this time miraculously missing all the lanterns laying on the floor to hold back the shadows that Obita was so terrified of.

"Congratulations on your achievement!" he yelled after her as the door slammed shut behind her, courtesy of an icy wind that she carefully shut down after it had served its purpose.

She was hungry, and it was time for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

All she can do is try to keep everyone happy, yet she feels as if she's failing miserably. She was almost at the point where she would put her foot down and scream that she was just going to be herself, and if anyone disagreed with that, it was their problem.

Despite this, she felt quite happy currently. It was such a miracle that she was able to control her powers when Obita insulted her like that. She wished that he would teach her to control her powers when she was actually using them, though. She felt he was holding back on that one for some reason.

She hated to think it, but it seemed like he was holding something back from her. She hated being suspicious, but in her place as Queen, she needed to be to maintain control if her kingdom.

She was walking toward her bedroom currently, needing the peace and quiet it could offer her. She needed to think on some things, needed that time to herself to regain control of her wayward thoughts.

She sighed aloud, if only... If only things went as she wished them to.

Prince Eric was walking toward her, his arms swinging back and forth like pendulums on a grandfather clock. She wondered idly if it was normal for people to miss people they'd never met, like her own grandparents, who'd died tragically before she was born. Tragedy probably ran in the family, she thought morbidly.

"Are you ok, Elsa?" he frowned at her, holding his hands out as if to protect himself. Was she that scary that he felt he needed protection from her? Or maybe the rumour mill was working more effectively than she'd thought it would?

She nodded, as she didn't feel like talking right now. Whoever said silence is bliss was right.

He frowned, lowered his hands, almost reaching for her but changed his mind at the last moment. "You don't look like it. You look really sad, actually?"

She sighed, shrugged, and tried to push her way past him but he moved into her way to block her off. She kept trying to get past him, but he wouldn't let her past, eventually backing her into the wall, his big body forcing her to cower into herself to avoid contact with him, as she still hadn't put her gloves on after her meeting with Obita.

"Now tell me what's wrong?"

"Why should I?"

"Because we'll be dead in under thirty seconds."

"What!"

"At least it got your attention. Now what's wrong?"

She frowned, lowering her eyes to the floor again, finding his eyes too compelling to lie to.

"I'm fine," and she shrugged her shoulders to illustrate her point.

"No you're not. You normally look much happier than this."

She tried to smile, but figured it probably looked more like a grimace. Her face felt twisted into an unnatural expression, and judging by the answering expression on Eric's face, it definitely wasn't attractive. He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes, which quite frankly she found terrifying. She closed her eyes tightly to avoid him looking into the depths of her blackened soul and seeing the true monster that resided within. Plus as she'd been told the eyes weren't the window to the soul, but the door and she must always be careful what she let enter through them.

She opened her eyes after taking several deep breaths to calm herself, not wanting to lose control of her powers yet again. "Can you please just leave me alone? I have a kingdom to rule." And she sauntered away, trying not to stumble into the narrow walls the way she quite often did when she was exhausted after a long day.

She'd relocated after her return from the mountains, finding the stress and memories of her past life too much to handle. There was simply to much space for her to fill without a fundamental part of her reacting to that emptiness without her even realising. Before she noticed the room would be filled with snow and ice in pretty patterns and the servants would be shivering when they brought her breakfast in bed. Now she preferred to live a life of relative isolation in her spare time, what little of that remained with her new duties taking up so much of her daylight hours. Her nighttime ones were filled with tutorials from Obita as he attempted to make her control her powers through using them on a regular basis so she became used to them and they would (hopefully) not get the better of her publicly and terrify everyone like they had this summer. It was the complete opposite of what she'd been taught her whole life, which was probably why she liked Obita so much. That and he was completely eccentric, and she'd always been drawn to the weird and slightly crazy people that everyone else looked down upon. She felt it was her place as Queen to treat everyone equally and therefore lead by example. So far her logic seemed to be working.

As she walked the corridor got colder, but that had nothing to do with her. It was just cold up here, which was why she liked it. That and no one else ever came up here, not even to clean. The spiders were becoming her friends, though at first she'd been terrified of them.

She wrapped her arms around herself, quickly running through her day in her head and regretting so many of the things she'd said. If only she had a time machine so she could rewrite her mistakes, though she supposed ultimately they'd make her stronger as a ruler and as a person. So maybe time travel wasn't really all it was cracked up to be.

She pushed open the door to her new room, loving the creaking sound it made. It was so drawn-out. She loved it so much she let it replay in her mind as she made herself comfortable on her bed to continue her slightly maudlin contemplation of the days events. Why was she not more like her sister, Anna? Life would be so much simpler if she didn't have these blasted powers to worry about every single waking moment of her life! She punched the mattress beside where she sat on the edge of her bed in frustration. Oh, to be normal! How much more wonderful it sounded with each passing day...


	6. Chapter 6

Elsa woke the next morning feeling refreshed, though that could be more to do with the ice crystals crusted on the walls and ceiling than how she slept, which wasn't very well. It was completely normal for her, so she was used to waking up with a headache and groggy eyes after her nightly nightmare. It always tended to involve the same things, her hurting the people she loved, returning to her ice castle and becoming the monster her people had feared she would become. She liked to think that she'd proven her worth to them by now.

Strangely, this morning she'd woken feeling refreshed because she hadn't had the nightmare at all! She'd had nights where she could go half the night without the nightmare, but that was as long as she'd ever been able to go without it. She'd never had a night where she didn't have the nightmare at all, and now she was sitting on the edge of her narrow bed wondering why.

Why hadn't she had it, could it have something to do with the events of yesterday? She'd assumed that after the stressful events that had transpired the nightmares would be even worse than usual. She frowned as she thought over it some more, desperately trying to avoid the complaining of her stomach. Mentally she told it to shush so she could think.  
>Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door, but before she could fix her wayward hair, get to her feet and open the door, Olaf came bounding in in all his usual enthusiastic energy.<p>

"Sorry to wake you, well actually I'm not because you need to see this!" he waddled his way over to her, jumping up onto the bed beside her to give her a brief hug before continuing to tell her something supposedly important that she was no longer listening to.

"Snow statues everywhere!" she tuned in just long enough to hear Olaf exclaim.

"What!" she screeched, hurting her own ears in the process, and probably Olaf's as well judging by the way he cringed in reaction to it.

"Yeah, there are snow statues everywhere, I thought maybe you might have done it?" Olaf asked, his face turned up toward hers, his carrot-nose askew like it pretty much always was.

She reached out to straighten his carrot, her mind elsewhere as she wondered what to say, what to do. Should she panic, or stay calm? She frowned as she thought of the last time she'd heard news like this, and what she'd done to Anna. She shook her head to clear it of the image, not even realising that Olaf was still talking in her distracted mental state.

Maybe that was why she hadn't had the nightmare? Because all her mental energy had been absorbed by constructing all those snow statues. She had to admit that she was curious though. She'd never inadvertently made something with her powers that she couldn't see or wasn't aware of on some level before and she wondered if they were as skillfully constructed as some of her other creations, such as her ice palace. She donated a little of her time and energy each day to maintaining it, just in case she may need it someday in the future as a hide out from the world and its often cruel inhabitants.

She got to her feet and walked over to the window, gently opening the dust covered curtains that ordinarily made her sneeze, but today she was far too distracted for that. And excited. Definitely excited about the prospect of something new she didn't know about her powers. She'd assmumed that there was a lot to learn about them now that she was willing to accept them and so was everyone else (mostly) but she had no idea of their extent!

Absent-mindedly she fixed her braid in the murky reflection provided by the window. When she finished she flicked it back over her shoulder and shifted her focus through the window, slightly shocked to see whole legions of snow soldiers lined up in rows in front of the palace gates. They were dressed in clothes like those of Roman centurions and somehow the snow was coloured! They bore an eerie resemblance to actual people, actual Romans that she and Anna had studied, separately of course, in their lessons all those years ago by their private tutor.

Personally, she'd loved everything about them and their way of life and had spent countless hours in the library studying them more than she should have, as most of her studies had been geared towards rearing her into the perfect Queen if she chose not to marry. For so many years she'd assumed no one would want her because of who and what she was, but recent events were starting to tell her otherwise.

Olaf leaped up next to her at the window sill, sitting facing her and swinging his stumpy little legs back and forth with all his usual energy. "Creepy, huh? I mean it's still pretty cool, but for a second when you look at them you think they're human and you look away. But then it's like you realise something isn't right so you look back and gasp in shock when you see them properly. That's why I came to tell you straight away, figured you'd want to know and you'd rather hear it from me than someone else. Someone who might be scared of you..." his voice trailed off as he realised what he'd said. "I didn't mean-"

She cut him off "It's ok. And thank you," she smiled to soften her slightly harsh words, because she truly was thankful.

"Though you should probably get down there and reassure them though, people will start panicking soon and you're the one they'll turn on. As far as they know you're the only ice mage, so they'll assume this was you, that you want to attack your own palace," he frowned "though that doesn't make sense, why would you want to attack your own palace, especially while you're still in it?"

She shrugged, already thinking of what she'd have to say to reassure her people, what she'd have to promise them in return for their continued trust in her. She turned away from the window and swept out of the room, having planned her approach in as much detail as she could in such a short period of time.

"Hey! Where are you going, the sun hasn't even risen yet!" Olaf yelled after her, landing heavily on the cold stone floor and running after her on his short little legs.

She smiled to herself as she walked. That was Olaf alright, always one step behind everyone else but he always had a smile on his sweet little face. What the world would be without him she didn't even want to contemplate.

"It was you?" he asked as he caught up with her, skipping along to keep up with her much longer strides.

"I don't know," she replied, her mind elsewhere yet again.

"But you know everything!" Olaf insisted.

That comment made her smile uncontrollably with happiness. Funny the things that made her day were often the smallest things, but they added up.

"Look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves," her father had told her multiple times, and he was right. Small things could make such a massive difference in the grand scale of things. Just look at snow, theoretically it was merely smithereens, but what you could create from it was truly incredible! She knew that better than anyone else, as she could sense every molecule of water on a telepathic level, and was also able to manipulate them, based on that innate knowledge. It was like they... spoke... to her somehow, though not in any translateable language.

"No. No I don't," she belatedly replied. Why was it so much effort to keep up a conversation while thinking of something else?

They continued to walk in silence down the narrow and slightly gothic corridors that stretched out and into the more modern additions to the original palace architecture. An ancestor of hers had built the palace many centuries ago as a place to hide from the world, but in the kingdoms' time of need he'd been there to guide the people and to lead them. Ever since then he'd been their king, and all the succeeding generations. Despite these fascinating origins, not much was known about those times as it hadn't been written down at the time of events and most people assumed it was just a story. She'd found that this end of the palace spoke to her somehow, comforted her when everything made her stressed and she needed somewhere to hide.

"Are you alright?" Olaf asked, bouncing up and down in front of her.

"Just thinking," she replied, making brief eye contact with him before looking away again.

As they passed a few servants in the corridor as the gothic palace gave way to gaudy opulence that more suited her sister's taste than her own, she gestured at a few of them to follow her. When she reached the throne room she turned to face them, surprised yet again to find them all on bended knee. She still wasn't used to it, and she didn't think she ever would be.

She told them to rise, then frowned because she'd lost her train of thought. She'd just have to catch the next one.

"Gather everyone you can and bring them here as I have an announcement to make," she clearly enunciated each word so that every single person in the room could hear her with ease. That was a lesson her mother had taught her, and she'd never forgotten it. Women could bring out the best and the worst in men, she'd said, and it was the duty of a good Queen to tame her men without them even realising it. It was a learned skill, and her mother was no longer here to instruct her so she was on her own in that respect. She was pretty much always alone these days. Except for Olaf, the sweetheart.

As the servants bowed to her again and scurried off to do her bidding she turned and got comfortable on her throne when an undeniable sense of deja vu came over her. Was it really just yesterday that she'd been sitting here being rude to all those princes until Prince Eric had walked in? Time sure did fly!

She folded one leg over the other, straightening her spine so she didn't look slumped like Anna so often did when she sat next to her here. Though she was so busy off gallivanting around the globe these days that she was hardly ever here to do her duty as the second in line. Not that she had any plans on dying any time soon, but accidents were known to happen.

She shook her head to clear it of such morbid thoughts as she spotted a flood of citizens pouring through the main doors, spreading like water over the marble stones that made up the ornate floor of the throne room. She rose to her feet, folding her hands to avoid any accidents with her powers, though she seemed to be doing quite well so far this morning with controlling them. So far...

"Good morning. I have gathered you all here today to speak to you about the snow statues I'm sure you've all seen assembled on the palace lawns. I implore you not to panic, as their creation has nothing to do with me at all, in fact I wish I did know how they'd been created..." she trailed off as she saw Olaf shaking his head at her. He was right, that probably wasn't helping her case at all. On impulse she blurted out: "And I have another case I would like to raise with you, the issue of my marriage. I have chosen a suitor and if anyone has any objections to Prince Eric of the Southern Isles as my betrothed, please raise them now or forever hold your peace. Any questions?" and she raised her eyebrows, wondering to herself where the hell that decision had come from! That certainly hadn't been her plan when she'd summoned everyone here, but what better to distract them from their own troubles than a royal marriage?

Olaf bounded up to stand next to her, whispering: "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course," she lied. She had no clue if this was the right thing to do, and hopefully Prince Eric himself wouldn't mind her snap decision, though she supposed if he'd travelled all that way to visit her and her kingdom he mustn't find her that repulsive.

Meanwhile hands were waving in the air everywhere in the room, and she was so overwhelmed she didn't know where to start!

"You! What is your objection?" she pointed to a short and stumpy little man in the front row.

"Well..." he twisted his hat in his hands, unwilling to make eye contact with her.

"Speak up so the whole room can hear you!" she told him sharply. She dearly wished people wouldn't waste her time with their simple doubts.

"Isn't he the older brother of Prince Hans who tried to kill you?" he blurted out all at once.

"Yes, but he isn't Prince Hans. Next!"

"Don't you think he might be plotting against you?" another citizen asked.

"No. Next!"

"Aren't you afraid that he just wants your throne and he'll lock you away until you starve to death!"

She sighed, "No. Next!"

The room filled up with shouts and questions, the words flying around the room and beating their wings against the windows. It was starting to give her a headache. Would they just shush for a moment and give her a chance to think?

She swayed on her feet, quickly regaining her balance and sincerely hoping that no one had seen her moment of weakness. She nearly jumped a foot into the air when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her close to a warm body.

A familiar deep voice whispered in her ear: "A little warning would've been nice, you know," Prince Eric chuckled lightly, his chest vibrating with the aurally pleasing sound and making her sink into him.

Without giving her any time to reply, and truthfully her marbles were scattered over the granite floor and being trampled on by her dutiful citizens, he rose his voice to address them for her. She would thank him later, when she had her wits about her again.

"Can't you see that Queen Elsa is tired? Perhaps you could leave your questions for another time, or better yet address me with you objections and complaints so I can defend myself?" he nodded as not a single person continued to speak. The entire room was so silent that you'd have been able to hear a pin drop.

"I thought as much," and he dragged her out of the room through the separate entrance intended only for members of the royal family. Though she supposed theoretically he was one of them now.

She closed her eyes for a moment to catch her breath, murmuring "thank you," under her breath and hoping that he heard. She'd hate for him to think she was rude.

The last thing she felt before she blacked out was a soft pair of lips connecting with her forehead and a replied murmur of "you're welcome." A small smile graced her lips and then the blackness overcame her.


	7. Chapter 7

_She ran and ran and ran, never_ _knowing what she was so afraid of, but knowing that if she stopped everything would end in flames and death. So she ran, and didn't stop, though her legs were starting to cramp and she could barely stop herself from stumbling and falling down into the abyss on all sides of her precarious ice castle. It was crumbling around her, drips of water plopping on her as she ran, each barely unable to withstand the onslaught of heat burning everything in its path. _

_In the endless distorted reflections the ice showed her there were a million terrifying images of all the people she cared about hurting and in pain. Screaming in terror and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Deep down she knew it was her fault they were in pain in the first place. _

_"Elsa!" she frowned and continued to run from the nameless fear that had haunted her her whole life, herself. _

_"Elsa!" the voice seemed even more panicked now, maybe she should pay attention to it? She shrugged and kept on running, knowing that all true monsters never gave you a second chance. It was do or die, all the way. _

_"Wake up! Please wake up..." the voice begged, seeming distraught beyond measure. Who could possibly care about her that much? _

She woke with a start, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a moment as she tried to orient herself with her surroundings. Eventually she gave up and directed her gaze in the direction of the voice that had woken her from her nightmare.

The handsome face of Prince Eric stared down at her, concern etched onto his features until he saw that she was awake. Then suddenly his expression morphed into that classic bored royalty look that she was well familiar with, having grown up with it. Her parents had always worn it when they had public outings, as she'd grown older she'd begun to resent it, wondering why they had to act like robots when anyone who wasn't a member of their family was around. That was why Anna was so refreshing and managed to make everyone love her, she had a way of treating everybody like the human beings that they were.

She would like to treat everyone that way, but as Queen it was expected that she act a certain way. On a completely different note, at least now she knew that Prince Eric cared about her. Then again, maybe her people were right and he could be just like Prince Hans, just after her throne. Though as the eldest in his line of succession, no matter what he was going to inherit, so why would he want her kingdom? She so hated conspiracy theories. Why couldn't people just be exactly what they said they were?

"Feel better?" he asked, cleaning out his fingernails much like she had yesterday when she'd first met him. So much had happened since then it felt like this was the dream and the nightmare was reality. It was so hard to tell sometimes.

She tried to speak, but found that her voice wasn't online yet so instead she simply nodded in reply. Her eyes felt groggy, so she closed them to avoid the brightness of the light. Who ordered such bright sunlight? Somebody call the chef and complain!

"Close the curtains! Can't you see that Queen Elsa wants to sleep?" Prince Eric snapped at a servant. So they weren't alone after all. She still didn't know where she was either, and she prided herself on knowing all the hiding places in the palace. Call it a misguided childhood.

She reached out a hand, not expecting for a warm hand to grasp it gently but she wasn't complaining.

"Where am I?" she murmured, surprised to find that her voice was scratchy with disuse.

"Sssh," Eric told her quietly. "You gave us quite a scare. You've been asleep for three days."

She snapped her eyes open, blinking to adjust to the lack of light in the room. She could just make out the features of Prince Eric in amongst the shadows, concerned for a moment then quickly becoming the blank expression she was so used to. She supposed she deserved it after the way she'd treated him.

Three days, though! All the things she'd missed! She'd had meetings booked, important ones. Who would have ruled in her absence? Anna was on the other side of the world, Olaf was too naive to be trusted so that just left...

"Who..." she tried to speak again, but found it too difficult so she gave up and hoped he knew what she meant.

"I hope you don't mind but I sort of... well... ruled in your absence," he answered her incomplete question for her.

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled up at him, truthfully not quite sure what to think. Deep down she was happy someone capable had taken her burden away from her, but at the same time she remembered all too clearly what happened when Anna trusted Hans, and Eric was from the same family after all. They did say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"You really don't mind?" Eric seemed nervous as to what she would think, which she thought was slightly strange. Why would he care what she thought of him?

"Hmmm?" she raised her eyebrows at him, wondering if she'd missed something while she'd been deep in thought. Provided he wasn't anything like Hans, she was perfectly ok with him taking her place for now so long as it wasn't permanent and she wasn't entirely cut out of the decision-making process. It was, after all, her kingdom, not his.

"I set a date for the wedding, and... well... I kind of... started to organise it," he spat out all in a rush after pausing like a naughty school boy who was terrified of getting in trouble.

She smiled to herself. "When?" she managed to croak out through her dry and chapped lips.

"A month from now, nothing to stress about. I made sure it would be just before your sisters, that's the custom in your kingdom isn't it? That the eldest sister must be married before the younger ones?" now he wasn't even looking at her, merely picking at threads of the bedspread and twisting them between his perfectly manicured fingernails.

She made a quiet sound of assent, mesmerised by the swaying of the curtains blocking the horribly bright sunlight from entering the room. She felt strange, like she wasn't fully in control of herself. She tried to summom her powers to create a tiny little snowman to keep her company while she was bedridden, but nothing happened!

She looked up at Eric, trying to convey her shock without using her cracked voice. Somewhere deep within she realised he still hadn't told her where she was, and considering her powers seemed to have run away from her she needed to know more than ever. It was imperative that she found out what had happened as soon as possible, otherwise how was she supposed to protect the people she cared about?

"What's wrong?" Eric asked, reaching for her hand with his much larger ones.

"My powers... are gone!" she exclaimed softly, grimacing at the way her croaky voice echoed from the walls and reverberated in her ears like all horrid sounds tended to do.

He frowned. "How could that happen?"

She shrugged, unable to answer the question herself. She wished there was someone she could ask who might give her an actual answer rather than avoiding the question like most people were bound to do.

Wait! There was Obita! Maybe she should summon him, he was sure to know, or would be able to find out for her. All those books in his messy and dark library, surely there would be something to do with seasonal mages like her? Anything at all, even something about fire mages would be helpful currently.

"Can you..." she coughed hoarsely into her hand. "Can you please summon Obita?"

"Who's Obita?" was the softly asked reply.

"The librarian," she managed to croak out with her eyes closed against the strain. Maybe she should just sleep... All this messy business could wait until morning when she wasn't quite so very tired. A huge yawn escaped from her cracked lips, despite her willpower not to.

"Don't fall asleep!" Eric exclaimed softly. "Please, please don't fall asleep..." and he started to sing her a lullaby, which somewhere deep in her logical mind she thought was quite ironic, considering he didn't want her to fall asleep. So why was he singing her a lullaby? That was men for you, she supposed.

Suddenly there was an incredible pounding on the door that succeeded where Eric's lullaby had not at keeping her awake. Speaking of, his singing cut off mid-melody and he got to his feet and raced to open the door so the horrid noise would cease. Her ears were hurting and his probably were too. But even then it was better than Eric's off-key singing.

Eric got up to open the door only to reveal the anxious face of Obita as he stood in the doorway bouncing up and down on his feet. His hands were clenched into fists and they drummed against his side like he was holding something in them that he didn't want anyone to see.

"What do you want?!" Eric hissed rudely, though despite his best efforts she still heard every word.

Elsa struggled to her feet and managed to stumble over to the door. It was amazing what one would do to avoid hurting one's already sore throat.

As soon as Obita saw her he pushed past Eric, who looked slightly offended but he'd get over it. He grabbed her arm between clammy fingers and dragged her over to a comfortable chair that creaked just next to the fireplace. He helped her to sit while Eric watched on, frowning to himself.

"This is Obita," she said pointedly to Eric. "The librarian." A look of comprehension fluttered across his face and like the wind it was gone just as quickly.

"What happened?" Obita asked.

"Easier to show you," she told him, holding one of her hands aloft and pointing it toward the fireplace. She tried to summon her powers, again finding it impossible to reach them deep under the surface of her soul where it normally bubbled over without any help from her. She made sure to frown openly, the stress she felt inside becoming apparent from her facial expression and found that the harder she tried the more it hurt inside.

She collapsed against the back of the chair as whatever had been holding her to the place deep within where her powers were't anymore let her go. She closed her eyes to try and regain her energy, but also because she no longer had the strength to keep them open. Her hand fell into her lap, cold as the snow and ice she'd been trying to create. It was an entirely new feeling, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

After a few minutes of blessed silence she opened her eyes again to find both Obita and Eric looking at her with concern. Obita had taken a seat and Eric was leaning against the wall, watching, but looking like he could get up and walk away any minute now.

Obita looked lost in thought, mumbling to himself while he worked his chubby fingers over whatever he still held clenched in his hands. If only she knew what he was thinking, but she figured that if she was patient he'd tell her soon enough.

"How... interesting," he remarked, seemingly to himself, eyebrows clenched into deep v's across his face as he puzzled over the fresh issue she had presented to him. Suddenly his sharp and beady little eyes focused on her where she still sat, exhausted. "How long have you been like this?"

"I only just noticed," she replied softly, but hoarsely.

"Hmmm... Good that you caught it early," he murmured, lost in thought yet again.

He got to his feet from where he sat reclined comfortably, suddenly as stiff as a post, staring at her for a few uncomfortable moments, his gaze too sharp for her liking. Then he was off, moving toward the door like he'd overstayed his welcome, when that so obviously wasn't true. As he left, he said to Eric: "Don't let her out of your sight. This is... She is..." for once Obita seemed lost for words. A rarity, something she'd never before experienced. How exciting. These were his last words before the door clicked softly shut behind him, and silence reigned over the room once again.


	8. Chapter 8

She felt the headache overcome her suddenly, like a tsunami it was completely unexpected in its destruction, leaving nothing in its wake. For a few minutes she was unaware of the world around her while she was incapacitated, finally coming to in the slowly-becoming-more-familiar-bed with the unfamiliar ceiling. At least for now...

She lay curled up on one side, her arms curled around her head for what little protection they could offer from the pain emanating from within. A now-cold, damp cloth had been placed on her forehead, for what good it had done her. Excuse her sarcasm, she'd never before had a headache of that severity and though nothing should condone the use of such rude language, surely in the privacy of her own head she was owed such liberties? Especially with the life she'd led so far, she found it difficult to maintain any level optimism really, unlike Anna, who could barely hold back her smiles. So much life, so much love... If only...

But it was useless dwelling on such things, she mused, only just noticing the silence settled like a shroud over the room. Clearly Eric was too busy to bother hovering over her like a mother hen anymore. She'd been in bed so long, why would any man bother with her? They knew what she was. Cold, that's what.

What had Hans said about her? "Nobody's getting anywhere with her," and maybe he was right, maybe nobody was ever going to get anywhere with her, maybe there was no use. There was probably something clinically wrong with her that prevented her from experiencing those things.

She shrugged and struggled to her feet, pushing back the heavy covers with hands that were actually feeling the cold for once. She didn't bother trying, somehow knowing that her powers would still be inaccessible. Who knew where they'd gone, but she barely missed them. At least now she wasn't a danger to everyone she cared about.

Her feet made incremental progress toward the door and the heat she sensed emanating from that direction. Mentally she applauded herself on her achievement. Then she kept right on going, knowing that she didn't have all day to check that Eric wasn't really planning a hostile take over of her kingdom.

Yes, she knew she should trust him by now and to his credit he had at least stayed by her side while she was out cold, but if he was anything like Hans he probably just wanted to keep her alive until the wedding day and then arrange a little accident for her. Boom! No more Elsa, no more ice mage. No more danger to the kingdom where she was concerned. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should just get it over and done with now, save him the trouble of being discreet about the whole thing.

But first she would confront him, because there was no sense in trusting the kingdom to a foreigner if that wasn't what he was planning, and he really did want what was best for her. She doubted it, but logically she knew she should check before acting irrationally like her sister Anna would if she was in this situation. However much she may try she was not her sister, and she had accepted that fact a long time ago. Sometimes though, she did wonder...

When she reached the door she poked her head out just enough to see two guards standing on either side of the open door, holding two very sharp and pointy spears upright against their burly chests. They both looked straight ahead with blank expression on their faces. Were they ensorcelled, or just plain stupid? She wondered sometimes...

She shook her head to clear it of inappropriate thoughts. Were these guards here to protect her, or something more sinister? Maybe she was wrong and Eric had already started his dastardly plan and she was too late to stop him. Why had she let him know that she was now powerless? Powerless and defenceless.

*FLASHBACK*

"What power do you have to stop me?!" she asked Anna, her features crumpled, her arms clutched to her chest as if to protect herself. Or perhaps to hold something in. Something dangerous.

*END FLASHBACK*

She shivered against the cold yet again, but mostly at the fear that was making her heart beat faster, and her mind lose anything rational it may once have had.

With a click of her icy heels on the freezing stone floor, she stepped through the door and into the warmth, impulsively deciding that her only choice was to confront the two guards.

"The Queen!" they snapped into attention.

She frowned, puzzled. Were they really just here to protect her? She doubted it, but it was definitely clever of Eric to get her to trust him and then Bam! Hit her with the full force of his attack.

"Ummm," she stumbled over words, something she'd tried never to do in front of her servants. She didn't want them to see her as weak, but for once words had truly failed her.

One of the guards took pity on her and turned his head towards her to quietly tell her that Eric had instructed them to take her anywhere she wished to go in the palace and to stay with her until she was ready to leave and come back. He had also given strict instructions that she was not to leave the palace.

Well there went that plan. Maybe he did just want the best for her after all? Why oh why did she have to doubt everything anyone did? Damn Hans and everything else that had gone wrong in her life for taking her trust and stomping all over it!

"Well then, will you escort me to the library please?" she asked politely. Why was she even asking, she was their Queen!

"Yes, milady!" they replied sharply, taking places on either side of her and setting off at a strict pace down the corridor and to the library.

She needed to see Obita.


	9. Chapter 9

"What do I do Obita? I just don't know anymore," she hung her head in her hands, feeling her body slump with the kind of exhaustion that irradiated from the heart. "Heck I don't even know if I can trust you!"

Obita placed a hand on her back, patted her briefly and then withdrew his hand. She heard him walk away, getting slightly mad at him for leaving her there after his too-brief show of support. But after a moment she heard his footsteps get louder again as he returned.

"I wasn't going to show you this for a bit longer, but now is as good a time as any," with this he pulled her hands away from her face and she had to quickly compose her tear-streaked features. If only gravity didn't work on her nose after a crying jag. But the world was cruel.

She blinked a few times, while Obita looked the other way respectfully. The guards less so, but that wasn't their job.

"So what did you want to show me?" she asked him, hoping she didn't look too terrible.

"Follow me," Obita told her, waddling off into the shadows and expecting her to follow.

"You know I hate it when you go all enigmatic on me," she sighed, shook her head and set off after him anyway, knowing the guards Eric had assigned her wouldn't be far behind.

Speaking of, she still needed to go and see him. Later. It could wait. Whatever Obita thought was so important meant that it should be important to her as well, which was why she was dutifully following him instead of demanding that he tell her what was going on.

The narrow corridor he was leading her down gradually got darker and darker until the only illumination was from Obita's lamp. Not long after that she was forced to walk behind him as the corridor narrowed yet again, the guards armour scraping along the walls due to their overly broad chests.

Just when Elsa thought the corridor could get no narrower, it started to open out again. She scurried forward to walk beside Obita again, not wanting to admit that she was in fact, terrified of the shadows. Obita's lack of fear was refreshing, but somehow was raising her own fear when she was normally so cynical about the Librarian's odd little fear.

Suddenly Obita stopped walking and she nearly slammed into the back of him, barely managing to stop herself in time. There was a door before them, four bolts holding it shut that Obita was bending over now to unlock.

Elsa was curious as to what was behind the door. What secrets could Obita still be hiding from her?

The door opened with a click.

The smell was like what Elsa imagined a sewer would smell like wafted out to colour the air a muddy brown. After coughing a few times to adjust her lungs to the new smells bombarding her sensitive olfactory nerves, she blinked at the light pouring in from the opened door.

There was a fire in the centre of the room, burning calmly but brightly as a small, thin boy crouched near it with his hands held out toward the warm flames. He looked up at the commotion in the doorway, but didn't seem unduly frightened at the strangers he saw there.

"Come in," he calmly told them, waving generously toward the ragged cushions set up in a circle around the fire. Clearly he'd been expecting guests. Just who was this kid?

Elsa stepped inside the room behind Obita, gesturing to the guards to wait for them outside.

"I'm Queen Elsa," she spoke softly, not wanting to scare him, plus she felt the darkened environment with the flickering flames called for a softer tone.

"Yes, I know who you are," he replied, not taking his eyes of the fire.

Elsa faltered. What was she to do now? She was truly out of her depth. Give her scared advisors any day over this self assured young kid!

Thankfully Obita took over. "Edward, Queen Elsa is an ice mage. Would you like to tell her your secret?" Obita asked kindly. What secret? What had Obita been hiding from her? Why did he know this boy when she did not? She was Queen, she was supposed to know everything! Or at least more than those under her rule knew.

She knew politics didn't work that way, but come on. This was the man she most trusted in the entire castle!

"I'm a fire mage," the boy - Edward - turned to look at her gravely for a moment before turning back to his fire.

Elsa crouched down beside him. "Are you controlling that fire, Edward?" she asked him quietly. Being a fire mage, she didn't want to make him angry. God knows what he might do if he got out of control. Lord knows what she'd do if he got out of control.

_Elsa! You're an ice mage, honestly! _She told herself. It was small reassurance, but it was enough to slow the racing of her heart.

"Yes," was all the small boy said.

As she watched the flames grew higher under the control of his steady hands, then died down to the peaceful flickering flames she had first seen when she entered the dank room.

"Would you like to be welcomed to my court, have nice rooms in the castle?" she asked him, not out of kindness toward him, but because she saw this as an advantage to her problem. Somehow, though their magics were conpletely different, he might be able to help her solve the problem of her disappeared magical abilities. It sounded cruel, but royalty often had to be cruel to be kind, to achieve what it wanted for the good of its kingdom. That was all Elsa was doing in that moment.

"No thank you, Your Highness. I like it down here. The shadows make pretty shapes on the walls."

Elsa had indeed noticed that, but she wouldn't have called them pretty. Instead, she would have termed them terrifying, horrifying, nightmarish, any negative word she could think of was a better descriptor than pretty. But he was a fire mage, so naturally things would be different for him.

"You could always come down here anytime you like to see the shadows, but you'd be far more comfortable up in the light with actual people," she argued her point, hoping he'd just concede because she didn't have the energy for much more of an argument.

"Why would I want to see people?" Edward asked her, appearing genuinely confused.

"Well, I can keep you away from people if you want...?" She told him, a clear question in her voice.

He cocked his head to the side. He paused for a moment as if thinking and Elsa waited patiently. Then the small boy shook his head, turning back to his fire as if the decision was final. Conversation over, you have been dismissed, was the unspoken communication she was receiving from his hunched posture as he bent over the fire he clearly loved to tend.

Elsa turned to Obita wondering what to do now. He just shook his head sadly and gestured to the door. They headed out into the tunnel together, leaving the small fire mage to his fire, and his smelly dominion with his ragged cushions set up for people who didn't exist.


	10. Chapter 10

Elsa entered the throne room with confident steps, hoping that the few people milling about inside would be fooled. She was just faking it till she made it, as her guts were churning and her mind was wheeling. She needed to see Eric. He could calm her down when no one else could, especially since Anna was away with Kristoff.

She walked straight toward him, no deviations, though there were plenty of her dutiful citizens that she would have loved to stop and have a chat with in any other circumstance.

Finally she reached the throne, where Eric sat like he had been born to sit in that very place. For a moment Elsa's eyes saw her father sitting there instead and she felt tears prick at her eyes, then she blinked and the moment was gone.

"Elsa. What are you doing out of bed?" Eric asked her, still seated entirely too comfortably for Elsa's liking upon the throne.

"Coming to see you, what else?" she replied cheekily. "I thought you'd be happy to see your fiancé?" she said as she sashayed toward him, delicately sitting beside him on what she'd come to think of as her own throne. She took his hand in her own, finding it cold and clammy.

"Are you ill?" she asked quietly, shocked.

"No, no. I'm fine, just a bit cold in here, you know?" he pulled his hand away from her and refused to look her in the eyes.

She frowned. What had she done wrong?

"Have I done something wrong?" she asked him softly, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"No," but he was still facing away from her, so she could tell instantly that he was lying to her.

"You know lying is unattractive," she told him, picking out her fingernails nonchalantly, the way she had on the first day they'd met.

"I'm not lying," Eric protested.

"Yes, you are," she refused to look at him, refused to let him know that despite the little game she was playing with him, he was really the one that had the power.

"Why would you think that?" He continued, seemingly unaware of her discomfort.

"You're..." how was she to end that sentence? She didn't know, so she let it trail off.

"I'm what?" Eric asked, like a dog gnawing at a bone. Why couldn't he just take her silent cues and know when to stop?

"Nothing," she hedged, fidgeting on her throne, feeling overly warm, which was not normal for her.

"No, I want to know!" he continued to insist.

She sighed. What was she supposed to say? Someone who was good with this sort of thing ought to help her! She was no good with people, especially not men she was interested in! She'd never thought there'd be any need, but obviously she was wrong.

Tentatively, she looked up from beneath hooded eyelids, only to find him looking at her intently. He looked slightly constipated, like he was trying to figure her out, but had nothing to compare her to, no concept of normal. She sighed again, this time in relief. Perhaps she wasn't really all that strange after all.

"You-" she faltered yet again. The words were failing her yet again. "You, you don't seem to want me," she whispered so quietly she doubted he could even hear her at all. But since she had dropped her eyes as soon as she realised he was looking, and he was being completely silent, she had no way of truly knowing what his reaction was.

"Of course I do!" He exclaimed, reaching out to gently lift her chin so she was looking him in the eye, all with the strength of just one forefinger.

When her eyes were firmly locked on his, he still didn't let go. He stared into her eyes for what felt like a million years, and if a million years had really passed in those moments, Elsa felt that she would not have minded in the slightest.

"What gave you that idea?" He asked softly, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"You.. seemed distracted when I walked in," she told him softly, still faintly embarrassed, but no longer fidgeting like a small child that needs to visit the lavatory.

"Well running a kingdom is a very draining thing, surely you of all people know this?" He asked rhetorically. She nodded, deliberately not looking at him. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the ceiling, and she wondered idly why she'd never spent much time doing so before now, as it was really quite fascinating.

"Elsa, will you look at me?" Eric sounded frustrated now. How amusing. "You're acting like a child!"

Elsa lowered her eyes from the fascinating ceiling, fixed her serious gaze on him. He flinched from her like she'd reached out and slapped him hard across the face.

"I'm only acting like a child because you're treating me like one!" She told him calmly. Maybe that wasn't strictly true, but how was she expected to mature without proper guidance?

"I'm not, honest," Eric sighed as ran a tanned hand through his slightly ruffled hair. Elsa tried not to stare, knowing it would be unseemly, but he was just so damn attractive with that just-rolled-out-of-bed look to his hair.

"Pfft!" Elsa turned her head away from him, tilting her nose up as she did so. She was good at ignoring people, after all, she'd had plenty of practice, what with ignoring Anna for most of their childhood.

They sat in silence for the next few hours, both attending to the citizens that came in with their problems for them to attend to. Each tried to ignore the other without making it obvious what was happening to everyone else in the throne room, but Elsa knew that they were failing miserably. Surely everyone knew what was going on here? Heck, they probably knew better than both she and Eric did.

Eventually the sun was beginning to set and she stood up from her throne, trying to ignore the lingering pain that ached all over her body from when she'd been sick recently. She clutched an arm over her stomach and walked confidently from the room, uncaring of whether anyone followed her or not. She was sleeping in her own room tonight, or be damned. That fool was not going to take advantage of her good heart any longer!

"Elsa! Wait! Where are you going?" Eric yelled from someplace behind her. She didn't turn back, just kept right on going. Her heels clacked against the tiled floor in a satisfying way as she pictured Eric's face that she was stomping on so violently.

She heard his footsteps as he chased after her and despite herself she felt her heart race. There was something about being chased that really brought out the adrenaline in her, and the worst thing about it was that she liked it.

Walking faster yet again, without running of course, she tried not to panic. She wasn't sure what he wanted of her, and so she wasn't going to let him take advantage of her any longer! It was time to take a stand against men who thought women were weak, and needed protection! She was the Queen, and she was an ice mage, the most powerful one the kingdom had ever seen for quite some time! ... Except that for now her powers were gone, so no matter how much she was really, really tempted to smite him, she couldn't lift a finger against him. Oh how she wished Anna was back from her travels. She could smack him in the nose without blinking an eye, which was exactly what Elsa was tempted to do right now, but she was scared. Scared of the consequences, even slightly scared of Eric himself.

"Elsa, please wait! I'm sorry!" She almost paused then. But it was too late. She was hurt, and now she needed time alone. Why did no one ever understand that?

She heard his running footsteps increase in speed once again, but was too exhausted to try and get away. She clutched her stomach even more tightly than she had been previously as a wave of pain rushed through her body. She swayed, reaching out to catch her balance on the nearby wall, then once she had she simply pushed herself off and continued walking, or stumbling really, down the hall that would eventually lead to her chambers.

_Some peace and quiet at last... _


	11. Chapter 11

Elsa slammed shut the door to her bedroom, sighing in relief. Thank goodness that Eric had eventually given up on chasing her through the twisted halls and corridors to her small, out of the way bedroom.

She walked over to the window, placing her hands confidently against the frame in order to watch the muted colours the sun spread across the clouded sky as it sank below the horizon. She was transfixed for a moment, eyes caught on the pretty colours of pink, orange and purple as the blended together to create something beautiful. It looked so effortless, and she wondered why it was that that level of perfection was not possible for mere human beings to achieve. Instead all it seemed that they were capable of was causing each other pain. It wad a sad state of affairs, but as Queen, unfortunately Elsa knew that tough decisions had to be made so that not everybody would be happy with her. She had to do what was best for both her country and her people, and that was a hard balance to achieve. There was nobody to teach her, everything she was learning was through trial and error, and she knew it wasn't going to get any easier either.

There were two soft knocks at the door. Perhaps it was Olaf? She certainly hoped so. She needed someone like him to jolt her out of morbid thoughts, before she did something irrational.

Turning away from the last remnants of the setting sun, she went over and opened the door, at first seeing nobody, then she looked down to indeed see Olaf smiling up at her, the little sweetie.

"Elsa! I've been looking for you for ages, where have you been?" Olaf said excitedly, squeezing past her and into the room.

She turned to face him as he walked on his stubby little legs toward the window she had been looking through not a minute before he arrived. Climbing up onto the sill the way he always did when he visited her, he gazed out the window for a moment, then turned to face her again.

"It's gone!" he pouted at her, and she tried not to laugh, as the serious expression on his face was honestly the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. "You were watching it weren't you!" he pointed a twiggy finger at her, seemingly accusing her of something.

"What?" she managed to get out between her laughter, as she found herself unable to hold it back for a moment longer. "What's gone?"

"The sunset, silly," Olaf told her, plonking himself down on the windowsill, facing toward her now that the sun had well and truly set and there was no longer anything to see outside the window.

"Right. Other than that, was there anything in particular you wanted to speak to me about?" she knew she was reverting into Queen mode here, but she was tired and she wasn't quite up to her nightly chats with Olaf, even though he did usually manage to improve her mood quite significantly.

She instantly felt bad when she saw Olaf's face fall, clearly disappointed.

"But I wanted to talk..." Olaf hopped down from the windowsill, shuffling toward the door with his head down. "I thought we were friends," he mumbled as he passed through the door.

Elsa felt her conscience berate her, but was unable to summon the energy to go chasing after him. Quite frankly, she was exhausted, and no longer really cared if she was hurting everyone she loved.

She was lying of course, but she had bigger things to worry about at the moment. Like the fact that there were other elemental mages like herself! If there were fire mages, did that mean that there were more ice mages too? This required a significant amount of thought, if only she wasn't so tired, she'd love to stay up late ruminating on all the possibilities!

Closing the blinds over the windows, she changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, trying not to shiver in the cold. She'd never realised how cold the temperature was in this room before, being previously unbothered by the cold, ice mage that she had been.

She wondered if her powers would ever come back at all, if there was a specific reason that they had disappeared in the first place, or if they just had an expiration date and that there was nothing she could do to regain them now that they were gone. In all honesty, she didn't much mind at the moment, at least it meant that she was physically unable to hurt the people around her. Of course, that wouldn't prevent her from scarring them emotionally, as proven by the way poor Olaf had just left, the poor thing. She felt bad for what she'd done, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She couldn't take back the words, or take back the pain that they had caused.

**This feels too short, but I don't know what to add to it, so enjoy. If you have any suggestions for where it should go from here, feel free to comment or be brave and send me a pm! :) promise i don't bite! ;) **


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